Watches As An Investment

Many people take extraordinary pleasure in acquiring fancy, high-functioning watches from renowned watch brands. The special timepieces are collected, cherished and cared for - a truly beautiful hobby. Increasingly, however, watches are acquired not for pure pleasure, but as an investment. Collectors increasingly see the watches as an investment and watch the price development with interest. This article deals with the topic of watches as an investment, explains what to look out for when making sensible investments in luxury watches, and presents some high-quality wristwatches with value appreciation.

Are watches suitable as an investment?

Due to the high volatility in the stock market and the historically low interest rates, which the bank pays out, the demand for alternatives to the investment of money is increasing. Thus, the luxury watch as an investment object moves into the focus of investors with purchasing power. In fact, a watch as an investment of value can be a worthwhile investment. This has been impressively demonstrated in the past by various models that have attracted attention due to their rapid increase in value. Nevertheless, one should be aware that there is no guarantee that a watch will increase in value. So, as with so many investments, the same applies to watches: investors must be able to live with a certain amount of risk. If this is the case, buying a watch is an excellent way to combine personal passion and love for (vintage) watches with a promising financial investment.

Watches as an investment - What do you have to pay attention to?

Investors want one thing above all: a rich return. But of course, no one can absolutely reliably predict how prices will develop on the market. Nevertheless, there are some criteria that can increase the probability of coming out of the investment as a "winner". In the following we dedicate ourselves to these criteria and take a look at what you have to pay attention to if you want to buy a watch as a value investment.

Manufacture

In the watch market, much revolves around the manufacturer and its reputation. While the purchase of models of rather unknown and new watch brands comes with quite a high risk, one is rather on the safe side with a model of well-known brands. Collector's items of renowned brands, such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet, are considered to be comparatively safe investments with which you can usually do little wrong.

Edition

Watches that are produced in very limited editions usually have more appreciation potential than those that are put on the market in large quantities. The fewer watches of a sought-after model there are, the more demand exceeds supply, which in turn causes the watch to increase in value and sell for a higher price.

Material

To what extent the increase in value of a watch is based on its material is worth a closer look. After all, the material can be decisive, but as a single factor it is only of limited value. Of course, it is advantageous if a watch is made of high-quality materials, such as gold or platinum. But the mere fact that a model is made of gold does not guarantee the buyer an increase in value.

Condition

Collectibles can sell for a high price especially if they are in excellent condition. This applies to watches just as it does to the vast majority of other tangible assets. So if you buy an expensive watch from Patek Philippe, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet, you should take great care of it and wear it as little as possible. This is the only way to ensure that the watch does not lose value as it accumulates signs of wear.

Authentication

The watch market is notoriously not free of fraudsters who want to sell fake luxury watches. That's why authentication - proving that a watch is genuine - plays a significant role. In practice, watches without a manufacturer's certificate usually fetch only up to 50% of the actual reasonable price. When buying a watch, it therefore makes a lot of sense to directly exclude models without a manufacturer's certificate and warranty declaration. After all, these are rather unsuitable as an investment.

Resale value

In terms of a worthwhile investment, it is essential to take a look at the price development of the models in question in recent months and years. In combination with a comparison of the price development of similar luxury watches, this results in a well-founded assessment regarding the resale value.

Top watches with value appreciation

As announced, we now turn our attention to watch brands and models that are sought after as investments. Due to the difficulty of reliably predicting potential increases in value, we naturally do not want to make any concrete recommendations for an investment. However, we do not want to refrain from drawing attention to companies and models with high demand and great reputation in the world of watches.

Rolex

Whether Rolex Daytona, Rolex Submariner or another collector's item from the house of Rolex: The watches of the well-known manufacturer stand out with sometimes extremely high prices on the market. If you take a look at the luxury watches Rolex Daytona and Rolex Submariner, these are traded far above list price and are therefore ideal for anyone who wants to acquire a watch as an investment. Demand is particularly high for steel Rolex watches, which still promise gigantic returns.

Audemars Piguet

An Audemars Piguet watch is pure luxury! The Swiss manufacture produces only about 26,000 watches annually, which means that the supply significantly undercuts the demand - good conditions for an investment. In particular, watches from the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore collection regularly fetch top prices at auctions, suggesting that you can invest your money profitably here.

Patek Philippe

When it comes to watches as an investment, the Patek Philippe brand cannot be missed. The best seller is the legendary Patek Philippe Nautilus, whose values are literally through the roof. But the Patek Philippe Nautilus is not the only model of the company that is suitable as an investment. In fact, many of Patek Philippe's wristwatches and pocket watches can be classified as attractive value investments.

Omega

Investing in an Omega Speedmaster or a similarly popular model from Omega is, in all likelihood, a good idea. Especially with the Omega Speedmaster, observers of the market sometimes get the feeling that the price would rise immeasurably. Even though - as mentioned several times - there is no guarantee of rising prices, there is a lot to suggest that luxury watches from Omega usually not only keep their value stable, but become more valuable over time.

A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne is a rather small German watch manufacturer that feeds the market with about 5,500 watches per year. Since the demand for the exclusive watches is high, they often increase in value the moment they are purchased at list price directly from the manufacturer. In other words, a watch from A. Lange & Söhne in good condition can extremely often be sold far above the price set by the manufacturer.

Tag Heuer

If you own vintage watches from Tag Heuer, you have probably hit the jackpot. Because: Well preserved vintage models of the Swiss watch manufacturer are rare and accordingly achieve prices that probably every investor dreams of. Tag Heuer is therefore another good example of a manufacturer of luxury watches, which comes up with numerous models that are suitable as an investment.

IWC

Watches from IWC convince with classic designs and highest functionality. So it's no wonder that investors can expect an attractive return on their investment. The chances of earning money when buying and later reselling an IWC watch are excellent, given the prices the watches fetch on the secondary market.

Used watches as an investment

The fact is that a watch does not necessarily have to be brand new to be a valuable investment. Used watches from renowned brands - such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet - can also function as profitable tangible assets that increase in value over the years. The condition of the used watches is the most important factor. A used watch that is in excellent condition is of course worth much more than a watch with more obvious signs of wear that may have fewer years under its belt. So if you want to use used watches as an investment, you should definitely have the condition of the respective watch assessed by an expert with specialist knowledge. Only in this way can well-founded conclusions be drawn as to how the watch might develop in value.

Conclusion Watches as an investment

Whether from Patek Philippe, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, IWC or Audemars Piguet, watch models from brands celebrated around the world represent attractive value investment options. If you take a few tips to heart, pay attention to certain criteria when buying timepieces, and don't invest entirely without expert knowledge, you have a good chance of rising prices for a wristwatch from the "big" brands and thus a worthwhile investment.